In this bumper practice clinic edition, Graham Fitch answers questions on voicing techniques for small hands in Schumann’s Kind im Einschlummern, managing tricky arpeggios in a toccata by Krebs and gives advice on how to help a dyslexic student structure their practice on Lasko’s Tarantella. He also explores ways to tackle trills in Schubert’s Fantasia in F minor and offers insight into the use of rubato using works by Schumann and Mozart as examples!
Practice clinic questions
Schumann Kind im Einschlummern (Op. 15 No. 12 from Kinderszenen) – There’s no way for me to reach the LH 10ths. What do you think of using the RH thumb instead of the left? What are good techniques to ensure you keep the note part of the LH chord instead of it sounding like it’s part of the RH melody?
Johann Ludwig Krebs Toccata in E-flat major, WV827 – I’m frequently missing the B-flat and then hitting other black keys on the way up the arpeggio in bars 20 and 23. Also, in left hand I changed fingering for bar 22 to 2-1-2-1 instead of 3 on F to prepare for 5 on B-flat again. It also sounds awkward – should I go over it with the metronome?
Agnieszka Lasko Tarantella – Can you provide some advice on how I could help a dyslexic student structure their practice for bars 9 – 16 of this work?
Schubert Fantasia in F minor for Piano Four Hands, D. 940, Op. 103 (2nd mvt) -I’m having difficulty with the trills in the 2nd movement of this work in the primo part (bars 1, 3, 29-32). Can you advise on ways to secure these?
Using rubato in different contexts – While I understand in theory what rubato is, but I assumed there was always one way to do it until my teacher advised me that there is a difference between slow and fast rubato. Until now, my use of rubato has just been based on copying what other pianists do by ear. I’d like to understand how rubato is used in different contexts, for example in Chopin’s Waltz in A minor, Op. posth (bar 150) and Mozart’s Sonata in C major, K545 (2nd mvt)?
Next practice clinic
Our practice clinics are no longer taking place on Facebook live but are rather pre-recorded and published alongside our regular blog posts. Please sign-up to our mailing list here for updates on future dates and to receive links to the recordings when they become available.
Watch previous clinics
Recordings of past practice clinics are posted up on our blog, Facebook page and YouTube channel once recorded and you can also view our full archive of previous events via these platforms.
How they work?
Further information on how our practice clinics work is available here or please click here to find out more about the Online Academy.
Online Academy subscribers can submit questions for practice clinics up to two weeks before each session. This can be done using the link provided on the Online Academy dashboard under “subscription benefits” (click here to sign-in and visit your dashboard).
Further information on how our practice clinics work is available here or please click here to find out more about the Online Academy.